Xi’s Wake-Up Call to the Nation

New Party leader Xi Jinping, center, along with other members of the newly-appointed Chinese leadership at the ‘Road To Revival’ exhibit at the National Museum in Beijing.

By Russell Leigh Moses

Is the Chinese Communist Party in danger of sleepwalking into the future?

Apparently, new Party leader Xi Jinping thinks it could be. And he seems to be looking for ways to wake it up.

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In an appearance at the “Road To Revival” exhibit at the National Museum here in Beijing on Thursday, with the other members of the newly-appointed Chinese leadership in attendance, Xi focused on the theme of “rejuvenating the nation.”

In a sharp speech delivered without notes, Xi stated that “everyone has ideals and pursuits, and each has their own dreams.”

“The Chinese dream,” he contended, is “to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation…in modern times.” At this point in time, Xi insisted, “we are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and are more confident than any time in history of the ability to achieve the goal” of revitalizing the country.

Despite appearances—all seven Politburo Standing Committee members, including Xi, appeared without ties—there was nothing impromptu about Xi’s appearance or his address. Indeed, in referring to China’s revival, he’s talking about how the Communist Party can make a renaissance happen; that is, how the Party can make itself pertinent to the China of the present-day.

That’s not easy or entirely clear. For example, does the new leadership kick-start a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign that would likely be popular among the public and would work to strengthen Xi’s political support inside the Party? Taking out lurking enemies and the politically left-behind in the Party is tempting. And there’s clearly momentum out in society to lash out at cadres behaving badly.

But that sort of crusade would pull the new leadership’s attention away from policy initiatives in education and health care—discussions of which have already started in earnest. Plus, it’s doubtful whether there’s much appetite in the Party for slipping back into the same old politics of holding onto power and watching from the sidelines while the society races ahead. Anti-corruption sounds to some like the same-old, unconnected Party—interested in its own struggles, instead of those underneath.

So, might it be better for the Party to find relevancy from within, to continue on the path of reforming itself—not cracking the heads of cadres, but changing their minds?

There’s something hopeful about that option. Recently, officials have been urged to acquire a “new consciousness”—a trinity of “knowledge, insight, and courage” whereby cadres would look more carefully at local conditions, provide new solutions, and do so on their own initiative. That’s inspirational stuff for many Party officials who’ve wanted to be set loose to address local problems on their own, instead of having to wait for clearance from Beijing.

Still, there’s a concern from cadres below that the political heavens will shift direction again, and slap around those who acted too abruptly. Reform-minded officials know that while they might be pushed to be decisive and innovative, hardline conservatives at the top still have established habits of shoving back.

In fact, Xi now seems to be exploring a somewhat different solution, bypassing the standard Party practices by appealing to the nation. He and his associates seem to be looking for a new ideological blueprint, one that connects what the Party does with what the society wants—a new “socialism with Chinese characteristics”

This is not rhetoric; it’s the current political reality for many here. More than a few cadres fear that the Communist Party has driven the country forward and yet receives no credit and little popular support. Xi’s opening speech noting the anxieties of the governed was a nod to this concern. His comments at the exhibit in Beijing—with the rest of the leadership beside him—hint at a looking for something larger than the usual languid gestures.

There’s ample difficulty ahead, of course. Reformers who think that Xi is looking to shake up the system need to be cautious that their expectations do not outrun the ability (or willingness) of the new leadership to elbow aside political opposition to change.

Likewise, conservatives seem to think that even these early murmurings provide an opportunity for them to advance the idea of “socialist core values,” a scheme for “social thought that would provide social cohesion and consensus”—code words for getting people in line with the Party, instead of the other way around.

It’s far from being a new morning in China. But Xi already seems set on making sure that everyone is wide awake for whatever’s next.

Russell Leigh Moses is the Dean of Academics and Faculty at The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies. He is writing a book on the changing role of power in the Chinese political system.

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